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HISTORY 



OF THE 



UNITED STATES! 



(CONDEl^SED) 




BY 



JUNIUS ROYAL MCCARTY 

Six years with United States Senate. 



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CHICAGO 

THE T. M. W. JONES STATIONERY AND PHINTINCJ CO. 



("opyrighted 1896, 

By Junius RoyaJ McCarty. 



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I 



HTSTOBY 



OF TJIE 



UNITED STATES 



(CONDENSED) 




BY 



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JUNIUS EOYAL MCCARTY 

Six years with United States Senate, 



JAN 221896 



CHICAGO 

THE J. M. W. JONES STATIONERY AND PRINTING CO. 

1895 



^^ 



,1. 



PREFACE. 



This little book presents.a brief statement of facts touching 
American history, and to those who desire a broader knowledge of 
the free institutions which our fathers established, it will, we hope^ 
prove a faithful guide. 

The author is a decendant of George Mason, framer of the Bill 
of Rights of Virginia, and an intimate friend of George Washing- 
ton ; also of Stevens Thompson Mason, U. S. Senator from Virginia 
and an officer of the Eevolutionary army. 

By permission we insert the following beautiful remarks of 
Gen. John C. Black in speaking to the toast: "Our Country," at the 
Columbus Club banquet, October 16, 1895 : 

" What glowing fancies rise within the mind at the sound of 
those magic words and what a splendid realization exists! Our 
country— far-spreading; its surface teeming with immeasurable 
crops; its bosom bearing exhaustless wealth of minerals; its fields 
of cotton and of corn and all the necessaries of life; bounded by the 
silver seas; seamed with rivers; piled with mountains; gemmed with 
lakes; vestured with the emerald and gold of the changing year; 
stretching through the zone?, magnificent in its vast expanse; a 
domain on which the daylight never dies; for when the sun passes 
from the Alaskan islands his first beams summon the New England 
farmer to his toil and gild the uplifted monument on Bunker Hilll 

"Oh, our America, my countrymen! How beaming with youth; 
how fair with eternal loveliness; how crowned with great achieve- 
ments; how majestic in righteousness; how sublime in hope; how 
noble in purpose, with the clustered love of all her sons and 
daughters; with the magnificence of all their sacrificial deeds; with 
the sublimity of all their faiths, I see her stand filled with the power 
of the free; her eyes luminous with the undying fervor of human 
hope; her lips full of the music of upraising humanity; her hands 
bearing the bounteous reward of noble toil; her brow crowned with 
the laurel of victory and the bay of genius, her sheathed sword 
replaced by the timbrel of rejoicing, while round her as she stands 
serene breaks the new dawn of God's everlasting and stormless day." 



THE CONSTITUTION. 

The foundation upon which the Government of the United 
States rests is the Constitution, which was framed by a Con- 
vention held in Philadelphia in 1787, ratified by the States, 
and went into effect March 4, 1789. It provided for a legis- 
lative, executive and judicial department. The legislative 
department, called Congress, to consist of a Senate and House 
of Representatives; two Senators from each State chosen by 
the legislature of the State, to serve six years, and the Rep- 
resentatives, chosen by the people of each State, to serve two 
years, in proportion to population; the executive department 
to consist of a President and Vice-President, chosen for four 
years bj^ electors voted for by the people of the several States, 
the number of electors being equal to the number of Senators 
and Representatives from each State. 

The President appoints a Cabinet, confirmed by the Senate, 
consisting of a Secretary of State, Secretary of War, Attor- 
ney General, Postmaster General, Secretary of the Navy, 
Secretary of the Interior, and Secretary of Agriculture, each 
of whom presides over a department. The judicial depart- 
ment consists of a Supreme Court with nine members, called 
Justices, appointed by the President — one Chief Justice and 
eight Associate Justices; Circuit Courts and District Courts. 
There are nine Circuits in the United States, and these are 
divided into fifty-eight Districts. Each Circuit and District 
Court is presided over by a judge appointed by the President 
and confirmed by the Senate. Justices and Judges hold oflSce 
during good behavior. Each of the States has a Governor 



6 
and a Legislature, elected by the people, also a judiciary. 
Each State is guaranteed a Republican form of government, 
and is permitted to manage its internal affairs. 

Each Territory has a Governor and Judges appointed by 
the President, but the people of the Territory elect a delegate 
to Congress, who is a member of the House of Representa- 
tives, but cannot vote. 

The Vice-President succeeds the President in case of death, 
and upon the death of both, the Cabinet officers assume the 
duties of the office in the order above named. 

THE INDIANS. 

When the first white men came to America they found 
the country occupied by a race of people differing in every 
respect from any other human beings, being of a red or 
copper color, and their origin unknown, although it is claimed 
that they are the decendants of Asiatics who were driven 
upon our Pacific coast by storms or in some other way. 
They were called Indians because it was at first thought that 
the country was a part of India. At first the whites and 
Indians lived in peace, but soon the former began to maltreat 
the red men and a bitter feeling took the place of the former 
friendship, and hostilities commenced. It is an historical fact 
that the whites have generally been the aggressors, and 
almost up to the present da}^ wars have marked the advance 
of white civilization on this continent. The Indians have 
always claimed that many moons ago the Great Spirit gave 
their ancestors the country, and Sitting Bull remarked to 
the Committee on Indian Affairs of the United States Senate 
that the Great Spirit had appointed him chief. 

To day, the Indians are for the most part living quietly 
upon their reservations, many of them have become educated, 
and are members of some religious denomination, and those 
who are still disposed to create a disturbance, are deterred 
from so doing by their knowledge of the superior power, of 



7 

the whites. An old chief, after a visit to the East a few 
years since, said in a speech on some public occasion, that it 
was useless for his people to longer contend with the whites, 
because they were as numerous as the blades of grass upon 
the prairies. They were like the sun rising in all his glory, 
whilst his people were as the setting sun. They would soon 
disappear. 

DISCOVERIES, SETTLEMENTS, ETC. 

This continent was called America, after Amerigo Ves 
pucci, a Florentine navigator, who visited the West Indies 
and the coast of South America about 1497. It is believed a 
German writer first called it by that name. 

The Scandinavians claim the honor of the discovery of 
the North American continent. We are told that about the 
year 1000 a small vessel left the port of Bergen, Norway, 
and sailing in a westerly direction reached the New England 
coast, and landed her crew near the present site of New 
Bedford, Massachusetts, and that settlements were made 
here and at other points in the neighborhood, and for several 
hundred years these people lived in the new country, but 
after this no trace of them could be found. As a fitting 
tribute to the memory of these hardy navigators of the olden 
time, and to remind the world of their claims, the Norwegians 
built and sent out from the same port a strange looking craft 
said to be an exact reproduction of the Viking ship in which 
the discoverers sailed, to form part of the exhibit of Norway 
;it the World's Columbian Exposition. It had an open hull 
and was sailed and rowed, carrying a large square, striped 
sail, and many oars, and came to anchor off Jackson Park, 
Chicago, after a voyage of nearly a month, and was wel- 
comed by a national salute from the batteries on the ships of 
war, and the shouts of many thousand visitors on the Expo- 
sition grounds. 



To Christopher Columbus, a native of Genoa, Italy, is 
conceded the honor of being the discoverer of the American 
continent. He had an idea that the earth was a sphere, and 
that by sailing westward he could reach India. His views of 
the shape of the earth were considered heretical by the 
church, and he met with many disappointments in endeavor- 
ing to bring others into his way of thinking, and to obtain 
assistance in carrying out his wish to go on a voyage of dis- 
covery. At last Queen Isabella, of Spain, came to his 
assistance, and on August 3, 1492, he set sail from Palos, 
Spain, with three small vessels, the Nina, Pinta and Santa 
Maria, and on October 12th reached an island of the Bahama 
group, which he named San Salvador. He also discovered 
Cuba and Hayti. He made in all four voyages, but it was 
not until the third of these that he discovered the main land. 
This was in 1498, when he landed on the eastern coast of 
South America, at the mouth of the Orinoco river. He was 
at first loaded with honors by the Spanish sovereigns, but 
charges were made against him, and he was sent home in 
chains, and died in poverty at Valladolid. A magnificent 
funeral was the only reward this great discoverer and bene- 
factor of mankind received. This has been the fate of many 
other great and good men. 

Exact reproductions of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria 
were sent by Spain to the World's Fair and were welcomed 
with national honors, and the wildest demonstrations from 
the vast concourse of people on the Exposition grounds. 

In 1497, John Cabot discovered the continent of North 
America, and the next year his son Sebastian sailed along the 
coast from Labrador to the Delaware river. England based 
her claims in America upon these discoveries. 

In 1504, French fishermen discovered the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence, and Caspar Cortereal, in the Portuguese service, 
also explored it. 

1511 — Diego Columbus conquered Cuba. 



In 1513, Balboa, a Spaniard, crossed the Isthmus of 
Darien and discovered the Pacific Ocean. It received its 
name from the calmness of its water. 

1512 — Ponce de Leon, a Spanish cavalier, in search of 
gold and the "Fountain of Perpetual Youth" which it was 
said would bring the freshness of youth to all who drank of 
its waters, discovered Florida, which was so called from the 
abundance and rich variety of its flowers, or because it was 
Easter Sunday (the Feast of Flowers). 

1519 — Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese, discovered the 
strait which was named after him. He died on the voyage, 
but his fleet sailed around the globe. 

1520-21 — Hernando Cortez, a Spaniard, conquered Mexi- 
co. He found it occupied by a race of people called Aztecs, 
who were quite far advanced in civilization. They had cities 
and temples, were governed by laws and were surrounded by 
many of the luxuries of life. They accepted readily from 
the Spaniards the Christian religion. The missionary Las 
Casas had great influence over them. 

1524 — Verrazani, in the service of France, explored the 
northern coast of the continent as far south as New York. 
France made this the basis of her claims in America. 

1531-36 — Francisco Pizarro conquered Peru. Immense 
quantities of gold and silver were gotten from the people by 
torture. The Spaniards found some evidences of civilization 
among the Peruvians. 

1541 — Ferdinand de Soto discovered the Mississippi river. 
He was buried in its waters. The name is Indian and means 
"The Father of Waters." 

15o5 — St. Augustine, Florida, settled by Melendez, a 
Spaniard. This is the oldest town in America. 

1579 — Sir Francis Drake passed through the Straits of 
Magellan, visited the coast of California, and circumnavigated 
the globe, 

1584 — Sir Walter Raleigh sent a colony of Englishmen to 



10 

settle Roanoke Island, which lies off the coast of what is 
now North Carolina. At that time all the main land opposite 
the island was given the name of Virginia, in honor of Eliza- 
beth, the virgin queen of England. 

1 586 — Virginia Dare, daughter of the governor of Roanoke 
Colony, born. She was the first white child born in America. 

1604 — French Huguenots made the first permanent 
French settlement on this side of the Atlantic. They called 
the country Acadia, now called Nova Scotia. They were 
driven out by the English in 1710. 

1607 — Jamestown, Virginia, settled. This was the first 
permanent English settlement on the continent. 

1608 — Champlain, a Frenchmen, settled Quebec, and in 
1609 explored upper New York. 

1609 — Henry Hudson, who was in the service of the 
Dutch East India Company, explored the Hudson river. 
Holland claimed the country and named it New Nether- 
lands. 

3 1610 — The first houses built on Manhattan Island, New 
York. 

1619— Captain John Smith, a prominent colonist of Vir- 
ginia, was captured by the Indians, and would have been 
killed but for the interference of Pocahontas, the daughter 
of the Indian Chief, Powhattan. Pocahontas afterw ards mar- 
ried Sir John Rolfe, an Englishman. A large painting rep- 
resenting this marriage is in the rotunda of the Capitol at 
Washington. Some of the best people of the State of Virginia 
are descended from Pocahontas. A Dutch vessel brought 
natives of Africa to Jamestown, Virginia, and sold them. 
This was the beginning of negro slavery on this continent. 

1623 — Protestants from Holland settled on Manhattan 
Island. This island was purchased of the Indians for $24.00. 
In 1661 the New Netherlands came into the possession of 
England, and was called New York in honor of the Duke of 
York, to whom the grant was made. It was afterwards held 



11 

by Holland for a time, but finally passed by treaty to Eng- 
land in 1673. 

1626-27 — Young women came over from England and 
became the wives of Virginia colonists. 

1630 — Boston settled by John Winthrop. 

1632 — Maryland patented to George Calvert, Lord Balti- 
more. He died, and patent was issued to his son, Cecil 
Calvert, who became Lord Baltimore. Settlement made by 
William Clay borne for the London Company. 1634 — Cath- 
olics first settled at St. Mary's under Leonard Calvert, a 
brother of Lord Baltimore. Clayborne and Calvert con- 
tended for the possession of Maryland for a number of years, 
but in 1646 Calvert came into peaceable possession. Named 
after Queen Henrietta Maria. 

1635 — Connecticut settled by emigrants from Boston. 

1636— Rhode Island settled by Roger Williams and Anne 
Hutchinson, who had been banished from Massachusetts for 
heresy. 

1637 — Harvard College founded. 

1639 — First printing press set up at Cambridge. 

1701 — Yale College founded at Say brook. Afterwards 
removed to New Haven. Named in honor of Elihu Yale. 

1638 — New Haven settled by Puritans from England 
under Theophilus Eaton and Rev. John Davenport. 

1656 — Quakers driven from Boston. 

1665 — New Haven and Connecticut colonies united. 
Providence, Rhode Island, so named by its founder, Roger 
Williams, out of gratitude for God's merciful providence 
to him. 

1675-6 — King Philip, son of Massasoit, chief of the 
Wampanoag Indians, engaged in war with the New England 
colonies. 

1651-3 — Emigrants from Virginia settled in what is now 
know^n as North Carolina. 1663 — Granted by Charles II to 
Lord Clarendon, and called Carolina. 1665 — Planters from 



12 

Barbadoes settled near Wilmington, and John Locke, the 
philosopher, prepared a constitution for them, but it finally 
proved a failure. 1676 — John Culpepper became governor, 
and in the same year emigrants from other colonies made 
settlements ; also Irish, Scotch and French Protestants settled 
there. 1729 — Divided into North and South Carolina by 
George II. 

1690 — French Huguenots made the first settlement in 
South Carolina. 

1692 — Witchcraft punished in New England with death. 

The eastern portion of New Jersey settled by Dutch about 
1638, and that portion along the Delaware by Swedes in 
1627. Name changed to New Jersey when it was granted to 
the Duke of York. It was purchased from the Duke of York 
by Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkley. 

1630 — Delaware settled by the Dutch, and in 1637 Swedes 
settled in that portion near Philadelphia, and called it New 
Sweden. Many of them were driven out by the Dutch. 
Delaware was sold to William Penn by the Duke of York, 
and separated from Pennsylvania in 1703, but the two colo- 
nies were under one governor until 1776. 

1668— Mission of St. Mary, Michigan, started. 

1681 — Charles II. granted Pennsylvania to William Penn. 

1682 — Penn, with a colony of Quakers, founded Phila- 
delphia. 

1732^ — Georgia settled by James Oglethorpe. Called 
Georgia in honor of George II. 

WAR WITH FRANCE. 

Both France and England claimed the country lying 
between the Allegheny mountains and the Mississippi river. 
French missionaries and traders explored the territory along 
the Wabash, Illinois and Mississippi rivers, Marquette going 
as far south as the mouth of the Arkansas river, LaSalle 
reaching Texas, and Lemoine d'Ibberville descending the 



13 

Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico, and France soon estab- 
lished military and trading posts through this part of the 
country. In 1749, England granted through the Governor 
of Virginia, to a company of traders known as the "Ohio 
Company," a portion of the country west of the Alleghenies, 
lying along the Ohio river. This company established trad- 
ing posts and traded with the Indians. Settlers, also, entered 
the Ohio valley. France sent General LaPierre with a body 
of troops and Indians, to drive out these people. Governor 
Dinwiddie, of Virginia, sent a letter to the French general, 
protesting against the action of the French government in send- 
ng troops to territory claimed by England, to molest British 
subjects. This letter was delivered by George Washington, 
born February 22, 1732, then a young Virginian not more 
than twenty-one or twenty-two years of age. The French 
general refused to consider for a moment any adverse claims 
to the country, and Washington brought this answer back to 
the Governor, and war was declared. The French captured 
the trading post of the Ohio Company, where Pittsburg now 
stands, and erected Fort DuQuesne there. In 1754, Dinwid- 
die sent out an expedition against the French, under Col. 
Frye. Washington also went with the expedition and, Frye 
dying on the journey, Washington took command. He met 
the French, under Jumonville, near DuQuesne, and defeated 
them, but nothing of importance was accomplished by the 
expedition. The next year (1755), General Braddock, with 
British regulars and Virginia militia, Washington acting as 
aide, was sent on another expedition. They were surprised 
near DuQuesne by a large force of French and Indians, and 
General Braddock and a large number of his men were 
killed. Washington succeeded in getting to a place of safety 
with a portion of the command. Several unsuccessful 
attempts were made to capture the French posts at DuQuesne, 
Frontenac, Niagara, Crown Point and Louisburg. Finally 
they were taken, and the French made their last stand at 



14 

Quebec in 1759. The English and colonists defeated the 
French on the Heights of Abraham, in front of Quebec, and 
the city surrendered. The French commander, the Marquis 
de Montcalm, and the English commander, General Wolfe, 
were both killed in the engagement, By the Treaty of Paris, 
in 1763, France lost all her possessions east of the Missis- 
sippi river, except the Island of Orleans. Pontiac, chief of 
the Ottawa Indians, continued to fight the British and colon- 
ists until 1764, when he was compelled to surrender. 

THE REVOLUTION. 

In 1761 the English Parliament passed acts levying taxes 
upon the colonies. The colonies remonstrated and denied 
the right of England to tax them without representation in 
Parliament. The Stamp Act required an official stamp upon 
every sheet of paper used. This was bitterly denounced and 
was called "England's Folly and America's Ruin." Search 
warrants were authorized to be issued whereby the houses of 
any citizen could be entered and searched at all times. 
Troops were also quartered on the people. 

Patrick Henry introduced resolutions in the House of 
Burgesses of Virginia, denouncing England, and the Massa- 
chusetts Assembly passed resolutions of the same character, 
and urged the colonies to meet for the purpose of devising 
some means of relief. In October, 1765, a congress of the 
colonies met in New York and adopted a "Declaration of 
Rights and Grievances of the Colonies,'' and memorials were 
sent to Parliament and a petition to the King. The colonists 
pledged themselves to use no more foreign goods until the 
tax was removed. It was finally removed in March, 1766; 
but in 1767 an act was passed taxing tea, paper, glass, lead, 
paints, etc., imported into the colonies. This law was finally 
repealed except as to tea. The colonists refused to drink 
tea, and w^ould not allow it to be unloaded. On the night of 
December 16, 1773, forty men in the disguise of Indians 



15 
went on board vessels in Boston harbor and threw overboard 
340 chests of tea. Just previous to this, in the year 1770, 
British troops whilst parading the streets of Boston tired into 
a crowd of citizens and killed three and wounded eight. In 
1774, the port of Boston was closed to all vessels by the 
Port Bill. 

In September, 1774, the first Continental Congress met in 
Phihidelphia, all of the States but Georgia being represented, 
and adopted a Declaration of Rights, and sent an address to 
the Kina and to the English people. This was of no avad, 
and Bridsh troops soon arrived and took possession of Boston 
Neck and fortltied it. The Massachusetts militia organized. 
April 18, 1775, 800 regulars were sent from Boston to 
destroy ammunition stored at Concord by the patriots, but 
Paul Revere made his celebrated ride and gave the alarm to 
Lexinoton and the surrounding country, and the minute men 
were ready to receive the British. The command of the 
British officer to disperse was disobeyed, and the British 
fired and killed seven citizens and wounded many. The 
British moved on to Concord and destroyed what stores were 
left, but were attacked by the minute men and driven back 
to Lexington with considerable loss. The British were sur- 
rounded Tn Boston by the colonial army. Col. Prescott sent, 
on ni^ht of June 6, 1775, to occupy Bunker Hill, but occu- 
pied Breed's Hill instead, and threw up intrenchments. 
Next day the British fleet opened fire upon the Americans 
and they were also attacked by 3,000 British regulars under 
General Howe. They withstood two assaults, but at the 
third, for want of ammunition, had to give way, and the 
British swept over the works, but their loss was terrific, and 
they gained nothing. Ethan Allen took Crown Point and 
Ticonderoga. 

Second Continental Congress met at Philadelphia in May, 
1775, and an unsuccessful plea was made for a settlement of 
the trouble. On June 15th, George Washington was elected 



16 

Commander-in-Chief of the Continental army and found 
14,000 men encamped at Cambridge, in a very poor con- 
dition. March 4, 1YT6, Washington took position on Dor- 
chester Heights, overlooking Boston, and the British were 
forced to evacuate the city. In 1YT6, General Charles Lee 
prevented the British from occupying New York, and they 
sailed to Virginia, and being reinforced attacked Charleston, 
but were driven off and returned to New York. General 
Montgomery and Col. Benedict Arnold invaded Canada, but 
were finally forced to give up the expedition. France 
formed an alliance with the colonies and sent a fleet in April 
under Count D'Estaing. England attempted to conciliate 
the colonies but failed. They demanded independence and 
nothing less. 

In this year American vessels captured many English 
ships loaded with supplies for the army of occupation in 
America. 

On July 4, 17Y6, the Continental Congress adopted the 
^'Declaration of Independence," and soon after adopted 
"Articles of Confederation" for the government of the 
country. 

Washington occupied New York, but was driven into 
Pennsylvania by the British troops. The English army was 
30,000 strong and was composed largely of Hessians who 
had been hired for the conquest of America. Just prior to 
this Howe, the British general, proclaimed a pardon to all 
who would lay down their arms, but it was of no avail. The 
Americans were very despondent, but were cheered by Wash- 
ington. He re-crossed the Delaware river the night of 
December 25, 1776, and defeated the Hessians at Trenton, 
taking 1,000 prisoners. Washington, knowing the superior 
force of the enemy, avoided a pitched battle with them by 
skillful manoeuvres. The British landed at the head of Ches- 
apeake Bay and marched on Philadelphia and defeated Wash- 
ington at Brandy wine creek and took Philadelphia. The 



1 



17 

Americans attacked the British at German town, but were 
repulsed. October 7, 1777, General Gage captured Bur- 
goyne's army at the battle of Saratoga. France recognized 
the independence of the colonies in 1778, and formed an 
alliance with them. England repealed the acts which had 
aroused the opposition of the colonies and sent commissioners 
to arrange terms of peace, but America w^ould not agree to 
iheir terms. A French nobleman, the Marquis de Lafayette^ 
came to America in 1777 and fought for the independence of 
the colonies, and it was largely through his exertions that 
France came to our assistance. Baron von Steuben, DeKalb 
and other distinguished foreigners joined our army. The 
colonial army suflfered terribly during the winter of 1777 and 
1778 in their camp at Valley Forge, near Philadelphia, but 
stood the test like true patriots, and in the spring the arrival 
of the French fleet in the Delaware river gave them renewed 
courage. Robert Morris, a Philadelphia merchant, provided 
funds for the carrying on of the war. In 1778, Savannah, 
Georgia, fell into the hands of the British, and the next year 
they occupied the whole of Georgia. An attempt to re-take 
Savannah in September was unsuccessful. John Paul Jones, 
with three vessels, gained a naval victory off the coast of 
England. In May, 1780, Charleston was taken by the 
British, and they overran the State of South Carolina. Corn- 
wallis was now placed in command in the South. In South 
Carolina Sumter, Pickens and Marion had repeated engage- 
ments with the British. General Gates defeated at Camden, 
S. C, August 16, 1780. Cornwallis defeated at King's 
Mountain, N. C, October 7th. 

General Benedict Arnold, while in command at Philadel- 
phia, misappropriated public funds, but was forgiven by 
Washington and placed in command of West Point, on the 
Hudson river. This place he attempted to turn over to the 
British in September, 1780, but Major Andre, the young 
British officer through whom the arrangements were made, 



18 

was captured, and the proofs were found on his person. 
Andre was hanged as a spy, but Arnold escaped to England. 
Col. Tarleton, a young officer of the British army who had 
committed many cruelties in the South, was defeated at Cow- 
pens by General Morgan, January 17, 1781. Americans 
defeated at Guilford Court House, N. C, March 15th. 
British defeated at Eutaw Springs by Gen. Greene, Sept. Sth. 
Cornwallis entered Virginia and fortified himself at York- 
town. He was surrounded by the French fleet and the 
Continental army and forced to surrender, October 19th. 
This closed the war, and by the treaty of Paris, Sept. 3, 
1783, England finally recognized the independence of the 
colonies. 

The British evacuated New York Nov. 25, 1782, and 
Savannah in December. November 3d the Continental army 
disbanded. December 2d Washington said good-bye to the 
officers at New York ; delivered his farewell address to Con- 
gress at Annapolis, Maryland, December 23d, and retired to 
his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia. 



19 

The Articles of Confederation were not considered strong 
enough, and at Washington's suggestion a convention was 
held at Philadelphia in May, 1787, and a new constitution 
was adopted, and afterward ratified by the States. 

Washington and John Adams were elected the first presi- 
dent and vice-president of the United States of America, in 
1789, and inaugurated April 30, 1790, from the balcony of 
the old city hall, New York. They should have been inaug- 
urated March 4th, but delay in meeting of Congress pre- 
vented. 

The members of the first cabinet were Thomas Jeflferson, 
Secretary of State; Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the 
Treasury; General Knox, Secretary of War. John Jay was 
the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The federal 
government took upon itself the entire debt of the war. 
1790 — Philadelphia became the capital. First census taken 
3,929,000 people. 1791— National Bank established. Ver- 
mont admitted. 1792 — Kentucky admitted into Union. 
Daniel Boone settled Boones borough, Kentucky, in 1775. 
1792 — Washington and Adams re-elected. 1794 — Whisky 
rebellion in Pennsylvania. 1793 — Great Britain seized 
American vessels in French trade, but afterwards paid 
damao^es. 1797 — Tennessee admitted. 1799 — Washington's 
farewell address. 

The country had for some time been divided into two 
parties — the Federalists and the Republicans. Washington, 
Hamilton, Adams and Jay were Federalists, and Jefferson 
was the leader of the Republican party. Adams and Jeffer- 
son were elected president and vice-president in 1796, and 
inaugurated the following March. War with France began 
because the United States refused to aid her in her war with 
Great Britain. Peace declared in 1800. Washington died 
December 14, 1799. Called the "Father of his country." 
1800 — Jefferson and Aaron Burr elected president and vice- 
president and inaugurated March 4, 1801, at Washington, 



20 
which was now the capital of the country. 1802 — Ohio 
admitted. This state was first settled at Marietta by New 
Enoflanders under General Rufus Putnam, in 1788. 1803 — 
Louisiana purchased from France. It had been bous^ht by 
Napoleon from Spain a short time before this. Commodore 
Preble fought the pirates in the Mediterranean sea. Lieute- 
nant Decatur distinguished himself in this expedition. 1801: 
— Hamilton killed by Burr in a duel. 1805 — Expedition of 
Lewis and Clarke to the mouth of the Columbia river. 1806 
— Aaron Burr attempted to set up an independent govern- 
ment in the west, but failed, was tried for treason, but 
acquitted. 

1806 — England claimed the right to search American 
vessels for suspected British subjects, and in 1807 the 
"Leopard" took seamen from the "^ 'Chesapeake." 

Congress passed an act called the Embargo Act, which 
forbade American vessels leaving our ports, in retaliation for 
the action of France and England in regard to our commerce, 
but this embargo act did no good, and was repealed. 

1807 — The first steamboat, the invention of Robert 
Fulton, was launched on the Hudson river. "Sub-Treasury 
Bill " passed, establishing sub-treasuries throughout the 
country for public funds. War with the Seminole Indians, 
of Florida. It lasted until 1812. 1808— James Madison 
and Henry Clinton elected president and vice president, and 
inaugurated March 4, 1809. Congress stopped trade with 
England. Commerce with France renewed. 1811 — Battle 
of Tippecanoe, in which General Harrison whipped Indians 
under Tecumseh, chief of Shawnees. War of 1812 with 
England. Many naval victories gained. Madison re-elected, 
with Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, vice-president. 
Inaugurated the following March. Commodore Perry's 
victory on Lake Erie over British fleet. His message to 
General Harrison: " We have met the enemy and they are 
ours." Massacre by Creek Indians at Fort Minims, near 



21 

Mobile. Defeat of Creeks by General Andrew Jackson at 
Tohopeka, Florida. No qtiarter given. Naval duel between 
''Chesapeake" (Captain Lawrence) and ''Shannon" (Captain 
Blake) off Bostofi harbor June 1st. The "Shannon" captured 
her. Lawrence was mortally wounded. His last words were: 
"Don't give up the ship." The "Boxer" captured off coast 
of Maine by U. S. S. "Enterprise." 18 U— Battles of Chip- 
pewa and Lundy's Lane. British fleet captured at Platts- 
burg. August 23d, General Ross burned Washington, D. C. 
He was killed on the march to Baltimore. Fort McHenry in 
Baltimore harbor bombarded by British fleet September 13th, 
who had to retire down Chesapeake bay without success. 
During the bombardment Francis Scott Key, who had been 
captured in Maryland and taken aboard the British fleet, 
composed the "Star Spangled Banner." 

Hartford Convention, which endeavored to bring the war 
to an end, ruined the Federalist party. 1815 — January 8th, 
Battle of New Orleans, where General Jackson whipped the 
British with loss of only 7 killed. 1815— Treaty of Ghent. 
End of War. 1816— United States Bank chartered at 
Philadelphia. 1815 — War with Algiers. Commodore 
Decatur compelled Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli to pay 
indemnity for destruction of our merchant marine. 1816 — 
James Monroe and Daniel Tompkins elected president 
and vice-president. Indiana admitted. 1817 — Mississippi 
admitted. Season of great prosperity all over the country. 
General Jackson continued war with Seminoles, and invaded 
Florida. Spain remonstrated. 1818 — Illinois and Alabama 
admitted. 1820 — Maine admitted. 1821 — Florida purchased 
by the United States. Missouri admitted under what is 
known as the " Missouri Compromise." This state was ad- 
mitted as a slave state, but slavery was prohibited north of 
3t) degrees, 30 minutes, and west of the Mississippi River. 
1820 — Monroe and Tompkins re-elected. Independence of 
South American states recognized in message of President 



22 



Monroe to Congress March, 1822 : " The American conti- 
nents are not to be considered as "subjects for colonization by 
any European power." This is known as the "Monroe 
Doctrine." 1824— Lafayette visited the ifnited States, hav- 
ing been invited by Congress. John Quincy Adams declared 
president by House of Representatives. John C. Calhoun, 
of South Carolina, elected vice president. 1826— Creek 
Indians removed beyond Mississippi River. John Adams and 
Thomas Jefferson died at same hour on 4th of July. This 
was the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, which Jefferson had drawn up. 1828— High protective 
tariff bill passed by Congress. Andrew Jackson elected 
president. He believed that "to the victor belong the 
spoils," and filled all public offices with his party adherents. 
Vetoed National Bank Bill. South Carolina was opposed to 
the tariff bill, and declared it null and void. President Jack- 
son's prompt action in sending troops to the state prevented 
trouble, and the matter was settled. 1882— War with Black 
Hawk and the Sac and Fox Indians. Indians conquered. 
1832— Jackson re-elected, and Martin Van Buren chosen 
vice-president. 1833— Public money placed in state banks. 
War with Seminoles renewed. 1836— Arkansas admitted, 
1837— Michigan admitted. 1836— Martin Van Buren elected 
president and Richard M. Johnson vice-president. 1837— 
Panic in business of all kinds. Many failures. 1837— 
Canadian Rebellion. 1840— William Henry Harrison and 
John Tyler elected president and vice-president. Harrison 
died April 4th following, and Tyler became president. Na- 
tional Bank Bill vetoed. Boundary between British Columbia 
and United States fixed. Texas declared her independence 
of Mexican authority. Annexed to the United States in 1845. 
1840— Iowa and Florida admitted into Union. 1844— James 
K. Polk elected president. 1845— War with Mexico over 
Texas boundary. 1846— Taylor defeated Mexicans at Palo 
Alto and Resaca de la Palma, captured Fortress of Monterey 



23 

and defeated Santa Ana at Buena Vista. 1847 — Gen. Winfield 
Scott captured Vera Cruz, defeated Mexicans at Churubusco, 
Molino del Rey, Chei)ultepec, and took City of Mexico Sep- 
tember 14th. In 184:6 New Mexico and California were 
taken from Mexico. California was admitted into Union. 
1848 — Peace declared by treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo. 
1848 — General Zachary Taylor elected president. Wis- 
consin admitted. President Taylor died in 1850, and Vice- 
President Millard Filmore became president. 1851 — Louis 
Kossuth visited the United States. 1852 — Commodore 
Perry's expedition to Japan. Japan opened to commerce. 
1852 — Franklin Pierce elected president. 1853 — Arizona 
bought from Mexico. 1854 — Stephen A. Douglas, of Illi- 
nois, introduced into the United States Senate the Kansas- 
Nebraska bill, which left the question of slavery to be decided 
by the people of these Territories. This bill was passed and 
it made null and void the Missouri Compromise measure. 
1856 — James Buchanan elected president. Question of 
slavery the all-absorbing one. Trouble over the Kansas 
constitution. Southern members of Congress favored a pro- 
slavery constitution. Free constitution finally adopted. 
1857 — Mormon troubles. 1858 — Minnesota admitted. 1859 — 
Oregon admitted. 1859 — John Brown took possession of 
United States arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, but was 
captured, and turned over to the Virginia authorities and 
hanged. This created very bitter feelings between the North 
and South, and the bitterness increased, and finally a war 
was the result. 

THE CIVIL WAR. 

In the year 1860 there were four candidates for the 
presidency: Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, represented 
those democrats who believed the question of slavery should 
be left to the people of the Territories to decide. John C. 
Breckenridge, of Kentucky, was the candidate of that 



24 

portion of the Democratic party who thought Congress 
should recognize slavery in the Territories under the con- 
stitution. Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, was the Republican 
candidate, and that party opposed slavery in the Territories, 
but thought each State should manage its own affairs. It 
did not uphold John Brown. John Bell, of Tennessee, rep- 
resented the Constitutional Union party. Their platform 
was, "The Union, the Constitution, and the enforcement of 
the laws." Abraham Lincoln was elected. The South had 
threatened to withdraw from the Union if the Republican 
party triumphed at the polls, and South Carolina seceded 
December 20, 1860, and was followed by Mississippi, 
Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas. February 4, 1861, 
a convention was held at Montgomery, Ala., and organized 
the Confederate States of America, and Jefferson Davis, of 
Mississippi, and Alexander H. Stevens, of Georgia, were 
elected president and vice-president. All government 
property was seized, except Fort Pickens, Florida, and 
Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston. This last place 
Major Robert Anderson held until April 13, 1861, when it 
was taken by the Southern troops. It had been thought 
that war could be averted, but this act precipitated the con- 
flict, and President Lincoln called for volunteers. Early in 
1861, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee 
withdrew from the Union, and the government property at 
Harper's Ferry and Portsmouth, Virginia, fell into the hands 
of State troops. A portion of the State of Virginia re- 
mained loyal to the Union and organized the State of West 
Virginia. Maryland, Missouri and Kentucky did not 
secede, but the people of these States were divided in 
opinion. 

The battle of Bull Run was the first important engage- 
ment between the North and South. This battle was fought 
on July 21, 1861, and resulted in the defeat of the Union 
army under General McDowell, by the Confederates under 



25 
Generals Beauregard and Johnson. Here the Confederate 
officer Gen. T. J. Jackson, received the name " Stonewall," 
for his conduct on the field of battle. 

A desperate struggle ensued, lasting for four years, dur- 
ing which time many great battles were fought, and it was 
demonstrated to the world that the American soldier has no 
superior in valor, skill, endurance and patriotism. There 
have never been greater commanders than Grant, Sherman, 
Lee and Jackson, and many others made records of which 
the American people, both North and South, are justly 
proud. 

Some of the principal battles, besides Bull Run, were 
Shiloh, the Seven Days' Battles around Richmond, Antie- 
tam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville (where " Stonewall'' 
Jackson was killed), Gettysburg, Chickamauga, The Wilder- 
ness, Spottsylvania Court House, and Cold Harbor. 

January 1, 1863, slavery was abolished by proclamation 
of the President. 

General Lee surrendered his army to General Grant, at 
Appomattox Court House, Virginia, April 9, 1865; General 
Johnson surrendered April 26th, and General E. Kirby 
Smith, May 26th. This ended the war; but the country was 
shocked by the assassination of President Lincoln, by John 
Wilkes Booth, at Ford's Theatre, Washington, D. C, April 
14, 1865. Booth fled to Virginia, but was overtaken and 
killed. 



Vice-President Andrew Johnson now became President, 
and undertook to restore the southern states to their 
former places in the union, without congressional action, and 
charges were brought against him by the House of Repre- 
sentatives, and he was tried by the Senate, but was acquitted. 
In 1865, the 13th amendment to the Constitution was 
adopted, which abolished slavery. In 1868, the 14th 



26- 

amendment was adopted, which guaranteed civil rights 
to all persons, whether white or black. In 1870, the 15th 
amendment was adopted. This guaranteed the right of suf- 
frage to all, without reference to "race, color, or previous 
condition of servitude. ' ' 

The expenses of the war made the public debt $2,700,- 
000,000, but this was reduced by degrees, by congressional 
action. In 1866, the Atlantic cable was laid. 

In 1868, General Ulysses S. Grant was elected president, 
and was inaugurated March 4th, 1869. In the same year 
the Pacific Railway was completed. In 1872, Great Britain 
paid $16,000,000 indemnity to the United States for depre- 
dations committed on our commerce by the "Alabama" and 
other confederate cruisers built in British ports. The "Ala 
bama" was sunk by the "Kearsarge," near Cherbourg, France, 
June 19, 1864. 1871— The Chicago fire. In 1872, Grant 
was again elected, his opponent being Horace Greeley. Mr. 
Greeley died November 29th, and it was supposed disappoint- 
ment hastened his end. 1873 — War with Modoc Indians. 
They massacred the peace commissioners, were conquered 
and the murderers hanged. 1873 — Steamer "Virginius" 
captured by Spanish, and most of crew shot for giving aid to 
Cuban insurgents. Damages paid by Spain. There was a 
great panic in business in this year, and many failures 
occurred. It was followed by great depression in every 
industry. 1875 — Resumption of specie payments provided 
for by act of Congress. Centennials of Concord, Bunker 
Hill and Lexington held, and troops from the south partici- 
pated in the Bunker Hill celebration. 1876 — Colorado 
admitted. Centennial Exposition, at Philadelphia. War 
with the Sioux Indians. Massacre of General Custer. 

As a result of the presidential election of 1876, both 
Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, and Samuel J. Tilden, of New 
York, claimed the presidency. The dispute was finally 
referred to a commission of fifteen members, five appointed 



27 

by the Senate, five by the House of Representatives, and five 
members of the Supreme Court of the United States. This 
commission decided by a vote of eight to seven that Hayes 
was elected, and he was inaugurated March 4th, 18 77. 

The principal event of Mr. Hayes' administration was the 
removal of the federal troops from the south as a part of his 
reconstruction policy. This gave the whites of the south 
control of affairs in that section, and gave much satisfaction 
to the democratic party. 

James A. Garfield was elected president in 1880, and 
inaugurated March 4, 1881. The republican party was 
divided into two factions, those who opposed the policy of 
the new administration being called "Stalwarts.'' Senators 
Conkling and Piatt of New York, were the leaders of this 
faction. 

On July 2, 1881, President Garfield was shot by Charles 
J. Guiteau, in the Baltimore & Potomac depot in Washing- 
ton, while on his way -with Secretary Blaine, to the train 
for New England. The president lingered until September 
19th, when he died at Long Branch, New Jersey, whither he 
had been taken in the hope that the sea air might help him. 

He was buried at Cleveland, Ohio. Vice-President 
Chester A. Arthur was sworn in as president first at New 
York September 20, and at the capitol in Washington, on 
September 22d. 

Charles J. Guiteau was hanged in the jail at Washington, 
D. C. 

Grover Cleveland, of New York, and Thomas A. Hend- 
ricks, of Indiana, were elected president and vice-president 
of the United States in 1884, and inaugurated March 4, 1885. 
Cleveland was the first democratic president since James 
Buchanan, who was elected in 1856. 

In the year 1889 Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota 
and Washington became states, and in 1890 Idaho and 
Wyoming were admitted into the Union. The only terri- 



28 

tories now remaining are Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, 
Alaska, Indian Territory and Oklahoma. 

Benjamin Harrison, of Indiana, grandson of William 
Henry Harrison, a president of the United States, was elected 
president in 1888. Levi P. Morton, of New York, was 
elected vice-president. Inaugurated March 4, 1889. 

Grover Cleveland was elected for a second time to the office 
of president of the United States in 1892, and inaugurated 
March 4, 1893. Adlai Stephenson, of Illinois, was elected 
vice-president. At the opening of this administration the 
country was in a prosperous condition, but 1893 closed with 
the business of the country in a state of panic. 1894 saw 
things in a worse condition than ever before known in the 
history of the country. Mills and factories closed and large 
numbers of people were in a starving condition. The long 
continued discussion of the tariff in Congress, and the uncer- 
tainty as to the outcome, is believed by many to have been 
the cause. Late in the summer a tariff bill was passed, and 
the fall opened with some slight revival in business, and a 
more cheerful feeling in regard to the future. 

1893— World's Fair at Chicago. 

1894 — At the November election the republican party 
was successful. 

In 1895, at the time of closing this little volume there are 
evidences of returning prosperity, and strikes^ which have 
been so disastrous in their results to all concerned and to the 
country generally, we hope are evils of the past which will 
be avoided henceforth by just arbitration. 

Our flag to-day floats over more than 60,000,000 of free 
people, and the constellation of thirteen stars has grown to 
forty-four. Let us ever cherish the memory of our brave 
and self-sacrificing forefathers to whom we owe the blessings 
which we enjoy to-day, and be at all times ready to defend 
our flag, our constitution and laws, even unto death. 



29 



PRESIDENTS AND VICE-PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED 

STATES. 

Georore Washington and John Adams — two terms — 1789- 
1793. 

John Adams and Thomas Jelt'erson — 1797. 
Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr — 1801. 
Thomas Jefferson and George Clinton — 1805. 
James Madison and George Clinton — 1809. 
James Madison and William H. Crawford — 1813. 
James Monroe and Daniel D. Tompiiins — 1817. 
James Monroe and Daniel D. Tompkins — 1821. 
John Quincy Adams and John C. Calhoun — 1825. 
Andrew Jackson and John C. Calhoun — 1829. 
Andrew Jackson and Martin VanBuren — 1833. 
Martin VanBuren and Richard M. Johnson — 1837. 
William H. Harrison and John Tyler — 1811. 
John Tyler and Samuel L. Southard — 1811. 
James K. Polk and George M. Dallas — 1845. 
Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore— 1849. 
Millard Fillmore and William R. King— 1850. 
Franklin Pierce and William R. King— 1853. 
James Buchanan and John C. Breckenridge— 1857. 
Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin— 1861. 
Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson — 1865. 
Andrew Johnson and Lafayette S. Foster — 1865. 
Ulysses S. Grant and Schuyler Colfax— 1869. 
Ulysses S. Grant and Henry Wilson— 1873. 
Rutherford B. Hayes and William A. Wheeler— 1877. 
James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur — 1881. 
Chester A. Arthur and David Davis— 188 L 
Grover Cleveland and Thomas A. Hendricks — 1885. 
Benjamin Harrison and Levi P. Morton — 1889. 
• Grover Cleveland and Adlai E. Stevenson — 1893. 



/ 



1h 'Sl-3, 



